Take Five 2006

with Jan Silver

HIGHLIGHTS

Lots of good entertainment here this week. Noted blues singer/songwriter James Hunter is at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center tonight. Three Brazilian-influenced music groups play at Guild Hall tonight, and Manhattan cabaret stars KT Sullivan and Mark Nadler perform there tomorrow evening. Well-known comedian Paula Poundstone is onstage at Bay Street Theatre, Sag Harbor, on Saturday and the Karkowska Sisters Duo play popular opera arias on Sunday afternoon in Southampton.

The State University at Stony Brook hosts its first event at Southampton College this weekend, “Sustaining the Good Life: A Symposium, Celebration and Tour.” Bridgehampton has its Antique Engine Run & Tractor Show this weekend, and Sag Harbor has a wonderful weekend of activities to celebrate HarborFest including whaleboat races, sea chantey performances, classic boats on display, walking tours, clam shucking and clam chowder competitions, and performances of a new play by Stacy Dermont, “300 Stories of Sag Harbor.” For details on the above, read on.

THEATER and COMEDY

Stacy Dermont’s new historical play, “300 Stories of Sag Harbor,” will be performed at the Old Whalers Church on Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 4 p.m. The play relates Sag Harbor’s history, from prehistoric times to the present, through the eyes of two historic residents and one current one, WLIU radio personality Bonnie Grice. The play is directed by Toni Munna and tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for students. Call (631) 725-0894 or online go to www.dermontandmunna.com.

Comedian Paula Poundstone, known for her sharp, quick wit and ability to create humor on-the-spot, is this Saturday’s featured performer in Bay Street Theatre’s “Comedy Club” series. The show starts at 8 p.m. and tickets are $48 (call the box office at 631-725-9500 or online at www.baystreet.org).

The Gateway Playhouse in Bellport produces revivals of award-winning musicals. The musical spoof Urinetown just opened and will run through October 7. Performances are Tues. to Sun. evenings, plus Thurs. and Sat. matinees. Tickets ($36-$42) are sold by calling the box office (631-286-1133 or 888-4TIXNOW) or online at www.gatewayplayhouse.com.

MUSIC

Singer/songwriter and accomplished guitarist James Hunter, who specializes in blues and soul, is at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center tonight at 8 p.m. His first CD, “People Gonna Talk,” is a best-selling blues collection. Tickets are $30-$45 at the PAC box office (631-288-1500) or online at www.whbpac.org.

The John Drew Theater at Guild Hall, East Hampton, overflows with music this weekend. Friday, three Brazilian-influenced bands perform, starting at 8 p.m. Richard Siegler’s Escola de Samba Boom, a traditional samba band, starts off the music. Next up is Bastards of Boom, who branched out from Escola and added rock, electronic and world melodies to their music. Scott Kettner’s Nation Beat closes the evening with their Afro-Brazilian maracatu music, mangue beat from Recife, and New Orleans funk. Tickets ($18-$20) are sold at the box office (631-324-4050).

On Saturday, 8 p.m., at the John Drew Theater, Manhattan cabaret stars KT Sullivan and Mark Nadler sing and dance to the glorious pop standards of their latest show, “A Fine Romance: The Dorothy Fields Songbook.” Fields was a celebrated musical playwright and lyricist of stage and film. Some of the wonderful songs to be performed include “The Way You Look Tonight,” “If My Friends Could See Me Now,” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” Tickets ($40 & $45) are at the Guild Hall box office (631-324-4050).

Southampton’s Rogers Memorial Library hosts the Karkowska Sisters Duo (violin and piano) in a concert called “The Golden Age of Virtuosi: Love in Opera – Carmen, Faust, Porgy and Bess, and more……” The program is Sunday, 3 p.m., in the Morris Meeting Room. Admission is free but space is limited, so please call (631) 283-0774 ext. 523 to reserve seats.

Recommended performers at local clubs and restaurants: Amagansett – Stephen Talkhouse (call 631-267-3117 for tickets) – Rob Cannillo & Friends, then Nancy Atlas Project (Fri.), reggae with Winston Irie (Sat.); Estia Cantina – Fri. & Sat., 7 and 9 p.m., pianist Bob Greene and cornetist John Bucher play with the New Orleans Society Orchestra; Montauk – Montauk Yacht Club (Fri. 3-7 p.m.), music weekends at Gurney’s Inn; East Hampton –Turtle Crossing (Mama Lee & friends Fri.), Maidstone Arms (Jane Hastay and Peter Weiss on Fri.), Babette’s (pianist Paul Gene on Sat.); Sagaponack – wine/cheese/music 5 to 7 p.m. Thurs. at Wolffer Estate Vineyards; Bridgehampton – pop standards and soft jazz at Kipling’s Fri. & Sat.; jazz brunch Sun. at World Pie; jazz Tues. & Sun. eve at Pierre’s; Southampton – music weekends at Lori’s (75 Main St.) and Tugboats North Sea, jazz Sun. 4-7 p.m. at Southampton Inn; Hampton Bays – Thurs. & Fri. at Edgewater; Westhampton Beach – music weekends at Casa Basso (Sat.), Passionfish, Westhampton Beach Steak House (Fri. & Sat.); Riverhead – Eastenders Coffee House (Thurs.-Mon.), Tweed’s (Fri. & Sat.).

SPEAKERS

Stony Brook University’s Center for Wine, Food and Culture presents a symposium, cocktail party and tour in Southampton on the connection between those three disciplines this Saturday and Sunday. The program starts at 10 a.m. Saturday with boat tours from the Marine Science Center, then a box lunch and brief introduction from University president Shirley Strum Kenny and the keynote address by author and naturalist Peter Matthiessen on “Greed and Heritage.” There are seminars on Saturday afternoon, a harvest cocktail reception featuring local wines and foods, and Sunday afternoon tours of local restaurants, wineries and food purveyors. Tickets to the different functions are from $35 for a single event to $100 for the two-day program. Registration is limited and closes at 5 p.m. today: www.stonybrook.edu/sb/winecenter/southampton.

Nonfiction author, editor and columnist Anthony Brandt will read excerpts from National Geographic’s book The Tragic History of the Sea: Shipwrecks from the Bible to the Titanic at Canio’s Books, Upper Main St., Sag Harbor, at 6 p.m. on Saturday (free admission).

The local chapter of the American Institute of Architects presents an afternoon and evening exploration of “The Future of the East End” on Monday, September 18. At 2 p.m., there is a workshop and panel discussion with local environmental group leaders at the United Methodist Church, Main St., Riverhead. Then there is a break for dinner and the program continues at 7:30 p.m. at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall with a talk by Univ. of Penn. Professor Jonathan Barnett. Call the AIA office at (631) 728-7831 or e-mail to aiapeconic@USA.net if you wish to attend.

FILM

Sag Harbor’s John Jermain Library screens the powerful docu-drama United 93 tonight, 6:30 p.m. There is no admission charge but arrive a few minutes early for a good seat.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Sag Harbor’s HarborFest weekend begins on Friday evening with a clambake at the Whaling Museum ($60) at 6:30 p.m. and the “300 Stories” performance at the Old Whalers Church at 8 p.m. On Saturday, some of the highlights are a 9:30 a.m. parade down Main St., an expanded Farmers Market on Long Wharf, classic boat and line splicing demonstration on Long Wharf, tours of the historic Annie Cooper Boyd House, whaleboat races at the windmill, classic boat regatta at the Breakwater Yacht Club, fishing contest weigh-in at Tight Lines Tackle, children’s activities all day, 7 p.m. concert with Marian Megna & friends at the Methodist Church, and the “300 Stories” performance at 8 p.m. Sunday starts with a pancake breakfast at the firehouse, more tours and displays, antique appraisals at the Sag Harbor Youth Center (11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.), tug-o-war contest at the windmill 1 p.m., clam chowder contest and Taste of Sag Harbor on Long Wharf starting at 1 p.m., whaleboat race finals at 3 p.m., clam-shucking contest on Long Wharf at 4 p.m. – and this is only a partial list. The Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce (631-725-0011 or www.sagharborchamber.com) has the complete schedule.

The Bridge Hampton Historical Society has added a farm food tent with homemade baked goods, jams, jellies, fruits and vegetables to this year’s Antique Engine Run & Tractor Show at the Society’s home across from the Bridgehampton Community House on Main St. The show is open Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m.